robably) one half of the whole number of the human race. (See
remarks in _Koeppen, Die Relig. des Buddha_, II. 86.)

CHAPTER LI.

OF THOSE WHO DID REIGN AFTER CHINGHIS KAAN, AND OF THE CUSTOMS OF THE
TARTARS.

Now the next that reigned after Chinghis Kaan, their first Lord,[NOTE 1]
was CUY KAAN, and the third Prince was BATUY KAAN, and the fourth was
ALACOU KAAN, the fifth MONGOU KAAN, the sixth CUBLAY KAAN, who is the
sovereign now reigning, and is more potent than any of the five who went
before him; in fact, if you were to take all those five together, they
would not be so powerful as he is.[NOTE 2] Nay, I will say yet more; for
if you were to put together all the Christians in the world, with their
Emperors and their Kings, the whole of these Christians,--aye, and throw
in the Saracens to boot,--would not have such power, or be able to do so
much as this Cublay, who is the Lord of all the Tartars in the world,
those of the Levant and of the Ponent included; for these are all his
liegemen and subjects. I mean to show you all about this great power of
his in this book of ours.

You should be told also that all the Grand Kaans, and all the descendants
of Chinghis their first Lord, are carried to a mountain that is called
ALTAY to be interred. Wheresoever the Sovereign may die, he is carried to
his burial in that mountain with his predecessors; no matter an the place
of his death were 100 days' journey distant, thither must he be carried to
his burial.[NOTE 3]

Let me tell you a strange thing too. When they are carrying the body of
any Emperor to be buried with the others, the convoy that goes with the
body doth put to the sword all whom they fall in with on the road, saying:
"Go and wait upon your Lord in the other world!" For they do in sooth
believe that all such as they slay in this manner do go to serve their
Lord in the other world. They do the same too with horses; for when the
Emperor dies, they kill all his best horses, in order that he may have the
use of them in the other world, as they believe. And I tell you as a
certain truth, that when Mongou Kaan died, more than 20,000 persons, who
chanced to meet the body on its way, were slain in the manner I have
told.[NOTE 4]

NOTE 1.--Before parting with Chinghiz let me point out what has not to my
knowledge been suggested before, that the name of "_Cambuscan_ bold" in
Chaucer's tale is only a corruption of the name of Chinghiz. The name of
the conq